PM slams Pak for 'glorifying' terror

Appeals for harmony in I-Day speech

In his Independence Day address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitied Pakistan for “glorifying” terrorism.

He said the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Gilgit and Balochistan had welcomed his latest move to expose Islamabad for rights violations.

Modi also appealed for social harmony within the country in the light of the recent incidents of atrocities against Dalits by cow vigilante groups and requested the youth who have taken up guns to join the Maoists to return to the mainstream.

Referring to the terror attack on a school in Pakistan’s Peshawar, which was loudly condemned in India, and the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in Kashmir, which was officially protested and moaned across the border, Modi drew a distinction between India – which he said was raised under “the influence of humanism” – and Pakistan, which he charged “rewards terrorism”.

“...Terrorism is being glorified. When innocent people are killed in terrorist attacks, there are celebrations. What kind of life is this which is inspired by terrorism? How are governments formed through the inspiration of terrorism? The world will understand this difference clearly. That is enough for me,” Modi said in his third Independence Day speech.

Going beyond his statement that his government should reach out to the expats of Balochistan and PoK to inform the world about the atrocities Pakistan was committing against its own people, Modi became the first prime minister to rake up the issue from the ramparts of the Red Fort to send a stern warning to Pakistan on cross-border terror.

“...I want to greet and express my thanks to some people. In the past few days, the people of Balochistan, Gilgit, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have thanked me, have expressed gratitude, and expressed good wishes for me,” he said.

During his 90-minute speech, Modi gave a sector-wise report card, including on foreign policy, economy, internal security, railways and roads, as he narrated his government’s achievements and pitched it against the performance of the previous UPA regime.

Modi said, “Today, the government is not surrounded by charges and allegations, but by expectations.”

He also made two announcements – to raise the pension of freedom fighters by 20% and to foot medical bills of up to Rs 1 lakh for ‘below poverty line’ families. Modi insisted that economic prosperity carried no meaning if it was not accompanied by social justice.